Back to Basics: Affiliate Tips

Whether you’re just beginning or have been in the game for years, it can still be valuable to review some of the basic techniques in promotion. Not all websites have the same type of audience so it’s best to tailor marketing to your own specific audience.

A personal blog by a sex toy reviewer will do best by promoting products in their own, unique conversational voice as if sharing personal experiences with friends rather than repeating traditional sales pitches.

A site identified with a brand instead of a person can highlight the selling points either of specific products or a store in general, answering the customer’s ultimate question: Why do I need this?

Many times, the most effective method is to integrate these messages into your site and marketing efforts in a way that is fluid with the rest of your content, as opposed to just a banner inserted into some empty space (banner blindness is real!).

Here are some specific suggestions for different types of affiliates and traffic. Modify them to suit your own voice, or use them as inspiration for even more creative, personal promotion techniques. These are definitely not the only options, just a few to get you started!

As always, please let me know any questions or requests for any specific types of graphics.

Your Website:

Don’t hide your affiliate link! For best results, incorporate it into your site navigation – you can simply add an additional menu option that says “Sex Toys” or “BDSM Gear” or “Shopping” (if your site is about toys or BDSM gear) and link directly to Stockroom.com with your affiliate link.

Or, you can make it more personal – link it to a page on your own site explaining why you chose Stockroom.com as your recommended shopping source. List the values that you appreciate: our products are handmade in our Los Angeles workshop to ensure quality rather than cheaply imported from overseas; we have a carefully curated product selection instead of stocking every product under the sun; we offer luxury products without the luxury price tag; we’re a trustworthy business that’s been in the scene for over 25 years.

Do you have a blog? Include a list of your favorite products with affiliate links to each product page. Are you an educational site? Create a list of recommended toys for different purposes along with their benefits. Do you provide a different service, like dating? Make a list of top selling products or newest products. Feel free to contact me for any recommendations!

Twitter and Social Media Sites:

If you tweet or post something like “Buy this toy!” most people will ignore it as they scroll past any tweets that look like ads – but you can still tweet links without seeming spammy.

What are your typical tweets like? Do you discuss your own sex life? A periodic tweet like “God, I love my Viberite massager!” or “I just found my new favorite toy” or “So I decided these new cuffs with be my new daily fashion accessory too” along with your affiliate link to the appropriate product page can plant some positive seeds for potential sales.

You can ask questions too – post a specific product or two with your affiliate links and ask your followers for their opinions or feedback. Sometimes potential shoppers have the same questions and your posts can help solidify their purchase decisions, conveniently through your affiliate links!

Email/Newsletters:

Whether you send personal updates or have automatic mailers set up, why not throw in your affiliate link with a short recommendation? Add it to your signature, or create an occasional bigger inclusion. For example: “I just noticed Stockroom.com is having an awesome sale on Syren Latex right now – they rarely ever discount these products! This is a great opportunity to snag some expensive latex at a discounted price!”

If you sell memberships or services, we may be able to offer you a special discount code to offer to new members and customers in their confirmation emails as an incentive to sign up for your site (contact me for more information and consideration/qualifications).

Toy Reviews:

These are some of the easiest and most popular promotional methods, and you can start with products from your own personal experience. The most effective reviews go beyond simply describing the product and explore the actual ergonomics during use, whether it lives up to its claims, noise level with easy-to-understand comparisons, any outstanding/disappointing features (and why), various or alternative use techniques, using it solo or with a partner, would they use it again, how convenient was charging/clean up, etc. These are only a few points, but don’t forget to insert your own special personality into posts. This is what makes your opinions stand out and what makes readers identify with and trust you.

Direct link to the product page in the beginning of the post and also at the end – make it easy for the reader to click through when they want, but avoid linking each mention of the product. Do you mention any other comparable or complementary products in your review? Link to those product pages too. We’ll let you use our pictures, but it helps to take your own photos for a more honest, trustworthy review (they also help highlight any features you may be talking about).

Dommes, Chat Models, Models, and Performers:

Many times, your fans and customers want to spend their money on you. Create a “wishlist” of products linking to Stockroom.com with your affiliate code with a private address (like a PO Box) they can ship to – they can buy products that you’ve picked out that we’ll ship to you – so you get free toys plus commission while your fans get to feel a closer connection to you.

Or, control them from afar – in general terms, many of these fans tend to be male: suggest (or demand!) that they to buy specific cock toys through your affiliate link (cock rings, harnesses, chastity devices, whatever you choose) and then tell them how and when to use to them. They’ll love feeling like they’re doing it for you.

Community Sites:

These tend to be built around specific fetishes and niches, and can convert very well. While some of these sites frown upon or even prohibit affiliate links, places where people are openly discussing different products and experiences are fertile ground to convince members (and lurkers) to buy a particular product. At the minimum, link to your own website in your profile (which should have a prominent shopping link for easy shopping).

Video Sites:

If video content (the “p word” if you will), is your main reason for traffic, then fulfilling that need will typically be first on your customers’ minds. Which product selections you make will depend on the video genre or genres you cater to.

BDSM and other fetish content is fairly easy: feature products similar to those in the videos so your users can recreate their own scene. Sometimes however, viewers choose content because they can’t recreate these scenes in their personal life, so solo toys are good choices for promotion as well. The same is true for more vanilla content: Couples’ toys, vibrators, and dildos can be good, while solo toys are typically always a safe bet (especially if your audience is primarily male).

I hope this helps new affiliates get started and even gives any old pros new ideas or a fresh perspective. Feel free to contact me any time with any questions.

If you have enough traffic, you may qualify to receive products for reviews or even free products for sponsored contests for your readers. Site traffic, social following with interaction, and age of site are all considered prior to approval.